It's a longshot.
But it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
After winning the top pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, would the Montreal Canadiens — the host city of the draft — consider trading out of their first number one pick since 1980?
Probably not, but as Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said earlier this month when asked about the possibility of moving out of the top spot: "you can never say no."
"Not all scenarios were discussed," said Hughes, in a translation from French. "In Montreal, I imagine that people anticipate that we will use the choice to draft a player."
"You can never say no, you don't know what might be offered."
Could one of those scenarios involve the Columbus Blue Jackets? Maybe. There's been chatter in Montreal hockey circles that the team should look to move out of the top spot, instead getting draft capital in return in an effort to fill a plethora of needs.
For any potential trade to even garner serious discussions, a couple of things would need to fall in line. One is that the Canadiens who have to have enough pause on presumed top pick Shane Wright. While that seems unlikely, Wright does not have the same pedigree or potential as the top spot does in most years. Think less of an Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid type, and more of a Jack Hughes or Taylor Hall. Still an elite player or, in the case of Hughes, potential to be elite. But also not a shoe-in, first ballot Hall-of-Famer like Matthews and McDavid are likely to be.
If that pause is there for Montreal, does that mean they may see Wright as someone with the potential to be more of a Nail Yakupov type? Yakupov was the top pick by the Edmonton Oilers in 2012, and scoring 62 goals and adding 74 assists in only 350 games with the Oilers, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Avalanche before signing a deal to play in the KHL for the 2018-19 season. He's still there, putting up very average numbers. "Fail for Nail", as the slogan was a decade ago, wasn't one that worked out. While there are very few experts who see Wright in the same vein as Yakupov, it would only take one organization — Montreal — to have their doubts.
On the flip side, the Blue Jackets would have to image Wright in a much more positive light. Maybe not quite in the same vein as Matthews or McDavid, but certainly more than Yakupov and likely in that Hughes-to-Hall realm. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen does a great job of not showing his hand, so his (and the organizations') true report on Wright (or any other player in the draft) will remain confidential.
If the Canadiens are a little low on Wright and the Blue Jackets are a little high, the conversation would get interesting. Montreal has a number of weak spots in the lineup, and while this draft isn't an outstanding class (or even one as good as the class of 2023 is shaping up to be), it's a balanced first round. The difference between, oh let's say 6th and 12th, isn't likely to be as wide of a gap as it would be in most years. There's two ways to look at that, but getting the sixth and 12th overall would be the chance for Montreal to get two really good prospects as opposed to Wright, who could be viewed in any window from that same "really good" window (the one the Canadiens would need to view him on to have interest in trading out of the top spot), to an elite window (the one the Blue Jackets would need to be sold on to make the offer).
Columbus isn't the only team with multiple first-rounders that Montreal could talk to. The Anaheim Ducks own the 10th and 23rd selections . The Buffalo Sabres pick 9th, 16th, and will have the first-round pick of the Florida Panthers. The Arizona Coyotes pick third and have two more late-in-the-round picks coming, based on how far the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes go this postseason. The Canadiens themselves will have a second first-rounder as well, taking whichever spot the Calgary Flames end up in.
But the Blue Jackets have the highest collection of picks of those teams, and if the draft pool is as evenly distributed as the pundits think, the Canadiens have a chance to speed up their rebuild. For Columbus, the trade would confirm that Kekalainen and company are in retool mode, not rebuild mode, and see Wright as an immediate impact player as the team ramps up their expectations as soon as this fall.
One thing the scouts do agree on is that the higher ceiling and the best prize this summer is Wright.
The interpretation of how much higher and how much better of a prize? That could make for a wild draft day.
